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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Allthingsterrarium" data-source="post: 57640" data-attributes="member: 3930">I guess you could say any terrarium animal is my hobby, I love them all. I am a reptile fanatic especially and even though I'm still learning about them I think I could tell any newcomer a lot about them. Reptiles are by no means my only passion though. I've only become particularly interested in tarantulas recently and I got my first one, a male mexican fireleg (brachypelma boehmei) I named October a couple months ago. I'm still learning a lot about tarantulas and I'm asking a lot of questions but it didn't take long for them to really grow on me and now they will always have a special place in my heart. I just don't get why so many people find them terrifying. I tell you, among many things, their lifespans shock me, especially for invertebrates. Females of many species can live well into their 20s and even 40s which is at least twice as long as most reptiles and amphibians. Males seem a little under appreciated by some enthusiasts but the fact that even they live between 5 and 15 years is astounding, especially when you consider the common house spider only lives about a year at most.Another thing I've noticed about tarantulas is that they really seem to have personalities. Many people say they have primitive brains and aren't really capable of emotion or affection. I disagree 100%, I've seen so many videos of surprisingly tame and even somewhat trained tarantulas. I've seen others that seem to recognize and even show affection or at least high tolerance to their keepers even after some time apart. I've even seen October run up to my side of the enclosure to see me and believe me he doesn't move much. Sometimes I swear he knows it's feeding time. The fact that some tarantulas within the same species are more skittish or mellow than others or are more aggressive or timid just highlights individuality to me. And I'm not a tarantula, how am I supposed to know how his brain works? Even if he isn't particularly sentient I make it a point when I interact with him to treat him like he does have emotions and feelings.</blockquote>

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